Lithuanian PM: Ignalina closure is not catastrophic
29.12.2009, 16:47
Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said the closure of the country’s only nuclear plant in two days is “nothing catastrophic,” citing estimates that the economy may return to growth even after the shutdown.
Bloomberg quoted Kubilius saying in a radio interview with Lietuvos Radijas today that electricity prices will rise as much as 30% to 45 centai ($0.19) per kilowatt hour for private consumers after Ignalina Nuclear Power Plan is shut on Dec. 31 at 11 p.m. Energy price growth “isn’t pleasant,” he said.
The shutdown of the plant, which also provides energy to neighboring Latvia and Estonia, will fulfil the nation’s promise to the European Union before it joined the bloc in 2004. EU officials were concerned because the plant’s design is similar to that of the Chernobyl reactor that exploded in Ukraine in 1986.
“Lithuania could have been better prepared for closure of the Ignalina Nuclear Plant, that’s obvious,” Kubilius said, adding that previous governments failed to do their “homework” to prevent price increases.
Closure of Ignalina may add as much as 0.8 percentage point to consumer prices next year, reducing deflationary pressures, SEB said on Dec. 22. Consumer prices will probably remain unchanged in 2010 from this year, SEB said.